Egypt's Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, left, speaks during a press conference as he displays images of radar scans to King Tut's burial chamber on a projector, at the antiquities ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, March 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Scans of King Tut's burial chamber have revealed two hidden rooms, according to Egypt's antiquities minister. It is a discovery that could intensify speculation that the chambers contain the remains of the famed Queen Nefertiti.

Mamdouh el-Damaty told reporters March 17 that the secret chambers may contain metal or organic material. He declined to comment on whether royal treasure or mummies could be inside. Analysis of the scans made by a Japanese team showed chambers that would be scanned again at the end of the month to get a better idea of what may lay inside.

"It means a rediscovery of Tutankhamun ... for Egypt it is a very big discovery, it could be the discovery of the century," el-Damaty said. "It is very important for Egyptian history and for all of the world."

The discovery could shine new light on one of ancient Egypt's most turbulent times, and one prominent researcher has theorized that Nefertiti's remains could be inside. British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves speculates that Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb, which archaeologists have yet to find.

Famed for her beauty, Nefertiti was the subject of a famous 3,300-year-old bust. Nefertiti was one of the wives of Tutankhamun's father, the Pharaoh Akhenaten.

El-Damaty said it was too early to tell what the metal and organic material could be. He said only that he thinks the new chambers could contain the tomb of a member of Tutankhamun's family.

The tomb lies in Luxor, in southern Egypt. Luxor served as the Pharaonic capital in ancient times. It is home to sprawling temples and several highly decorated ancient tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The discovery of King Tut's nearly intact tomb was made by Howard Carter in 1922. It sparked a renewed interest in Egyptology and yielded unprecedented Pharaonic treasures. Those included the boy king's sarcophagus and iconic golden burial mask.

Reeves reached his theory after high-resolution images discovered what he said were straight lines in King Tut's tomb. These lines, previously hidden by color and the stones' texture, indicate the presence of a sealed chamber, he said. The images were broadcast live on national television last September.

At the Cairo news conference, el-Damaty highlighted radar scans. They showed anomalies in the walls of the tomb. They indicated a possible hidden door and the chambers, which lay behind walls that were covered up and painted over with hieroglyphics.

Nefertiti was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. He unsuccessfully attempted to switch Egypt to an early form of monotheism. Akhenaten was succeeded by a pharaoh referred to as Smenkhare and then Tut, who was proven by genetic testing to have been Akhenaten's son.

Tut, Nefertiti, and Akhenaten's family ruled Egypt during one of its most turbulent times, which ended with a military takeover by Egypt's top general at the time, Horemheb. The family's names were later erased from official records.

A tomb might have hidden rooms because it was meant to hold Queen Nefertiti and her family. Some archaeologists think King Tut "may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb."

The hidden rooms could also "contain the tomb of a member of Tutankhamun's family."

raymunda-4-bar

3/23/2016 - 10:19 p.m.

A tomb would have hidden rooms because, maybe they want to conceal their secrets from the outside world, and doesn't want the world to know their secret. Maybe the family was ashamed of their past, and doesn't want their face to be seen such as, Tut, Nefertiti, and Akhenaten's family which soon, " the family's names were later erased from official records." (Paragraph 11, Brian Rohan) This reveals that the family was erased from society and maybe the family did something wrong, which successfully confined them to a secret room. Also, a tomb might have a hidden room to show royalty. Maybe the people in Egypt believed that you are so important, that you cannot be seen to the rest of the world, since your face is special. Even, "it is a discovery that could intensify speculation that the chambers contain the remains of the famed Queen Nefertiti," (Paragraph 1) which shows that the Queen was royalty and buried in a secret tomb. This article is interesting because it is really cool that you get buried in a secret place, which ordinary people can't see you. This shocked me because when we discovered King Tut's tomb, it was WAY back in 1922, that was a really long time ago, and we still haven't found the Queen's tomb!

jacks-6-bar

3/24/2016 - 09:44 p.m.

A tomb would have hidden rooms because it provided secureness for the body and protected treasures. The article states: "Nefertiti was the primary wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. He unsuccessfully attempted to switch Egypt to an early form of monotheism. Akhenaten was succeeded by a pharaoh referred to as Smenkhare and then Tut, who was proven by genetic testing to have been Akhenaten's son." If these groups of pharaohs, including Nefertiti, were unpopular at forcibly influencing a particular religion, they would obviously be hated and belittled. They wanted to make people worship unorthodox-like, but the Egyptians disagreed with them, primarily because they ignored their thoughts, interests, rights, etc. Since the pharaohs were so unpopular, they were probably schemed against. A perfect way to show disrespect to a pharaoh is to enter and disrupt the owner's tomb (primarily the body, as that's what the people hated). To insure the security of bodies, tombs were hidden, making the tomb hardly visible. With this, none could not find the bodies to vandalize, so, in turn, the pharaohs would most likely, and hopefully, rest untouched and respected.Another reason a tomb would have hidden tombs would be to protect all the wealth and treasure throughout the burial places. The article states: "The tomb lies in Luxor, in southern Egypt. Luxor served as the Pharaonic capital in ancient times. It is home to sprawling temples and several highly decorated ancient tombs in the Valley of the Kings." If tombs were filled with treasures and riches of all sorts, and of the fines quality, it be very tempting to steal; stealing a simple small amount would suffice for making one rich. In order to protect these treasures, they would need to be hidden so Egyptians, or anyone else, hopefully wouldn't find them. These treasures were usually stored in tombs, so these were the rooms that were attempted to be concealed. All this effort went into this partly to protect the valuables that, if not concealed, were easily stolen, tombs being a barren, deserted place anyways.I found this article interesting; it is mind-blowing how the human-race, for 3,300 years, according to the article, hasn't found Queen Nefertiti's tomb, while it is probably next to another huge discovery, King Tutankhamun's tomb. It was fascinating to see all the clues, discoveries, hypotheses, etc. that led to this bold, surprising generalization.

brianag-6-bar

3/24/2016 - 11:24 p.m.

A tomb would have hidden rooms because it could have been meant for Queen Nefertiti. Also the fact that "The family's names were later erased from official records." This could have meant that they wanted to keep this tomb secret.

noahf-3-bar

3/25/2016 - 09:53 a.m.

A tomb might have hidden rooms to store valuables, but in the case of King Tut's tomb the secret rooms are suspected to hold a member of Tutankhamun's family.

I found this article interesting because I learned a lot about ancient egyptian culture, that I didn't know before.

jacksonm-4-bar

3/25/2016 - 10:28 a.m.

A tomb could have hidden rooms to protect the remains of people that the family doesn't want to be disturbed.The secret room in king tuts tomb could be the resting place of Nefertiti.

theaw-4-bar

3/28/2016 - 07:53 p.m.

A tomb would have hidden rooms to hide valuables and other things which were hidden for privacy. For instance, King Tuts tomb might have hidden rooms because it possibly did not belong to him. "British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves speculates that Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Nefertiti's tomb, which archaeologists have yet to find." There may be hidden rooms to conceal any trace of his tomb ever being someone else's. I liked this article because when I was younger I was interested in Egyptian history, especially in King Tut and now a huge discovery is possibly being made.

maxwellc-3-bar

3/29/2016 - 12:18 a.m.

A tomb would have hidden rooms to protect valuable objects and the Pharoah's body from being mutilated or destroyed by raiders or thieves. Also, in the case of this powerful family, the ruling power after the death of these figures clearly did not want to show grandeur or make a big show of respect for King Tutankhamen, when they had actually seized control of the Kingdom of Egypt from the Pharaoh. As the text said, "Tut, Nefertiti, and Akhenaten's family ruled Egypt during one of its most turbulent times, which ended with a military takeover by Egypt's top general at the time, Horemheb. The family's names were later erased from official records." Clearly, the Egyptian general did not support these rulers and wanted to forget that there was a time in which the general had been dominated by another power.

joey0111-byo

3/29/2016 - 08:04 p.m.

To hold Nefertiti's remains. Also to hold all of the kings money and valuables. It could contain a map to the other secret chamber.

sebastianr-6-bar

3/30/2016 - 09:40 p.m.

A tomb would have hidden rooms because there might have been something that someone, back when they were created, wanted to hide and keep secret for a very long time. I think that if this was the persons reasoning for the hidden rooms then succeeded considering that we had just recently discovered the rooms compared to how long they have actually been there. Another reason for the hidden rooms to be there would be to hide or escape from something dangerous that could possibly take there life. In my opinion I think that the hidden rooms were a smart idea and could be used in many situations for many different things.